NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES:IS IT TIME FOR A CHRISTIAN REAPPRAISAL?

The topic simply refuses to go away! During the last
few years the amount of people undergoing so-called NDEs (Near
Death Experiences) has mushroomed. Is it not time for a better
evangelical Christian response?

The
Experience

What are NDEs? These are experiences of people
who have briefly 'died' but then been brought back to
consciousness by skilled doctors and medics. It should not
surprise us that with ever-improving medical techniques more and
more people are being brought back from the point of death (and
even beyond).

Many such people (although by no means all) record very vivid
experiences of leaving their bodies and of being transported
away. Many such testimonies have described entering something
which sounds very much like Hell; it is a place of suffering,
torments and moans and usually described as being very dark and
gloomy, but many other testimonies speak of entering Heaven after
a rapid journey through a tunnel at which light is perceived at
the end. This light typically gets brighter and brighter
culminating in the experience of entering a beautiful and
wondrous place in which the feelings of love and security are
powerful.
Oftentimes deceased relatives are then met and in a surprisingly
high number of accounts these people also describe meeting the
Lord Jesus Himself! The descriptions of Paradise are all
amazingly similar, even when experienced from people from many
different cultures, indeed people who have extensively researched
this phenomenon, always remark on the similarities right the way
through the experiences.

Paradise is usually described as having breathtakingly beautiful
grass, trees and flowers all of which are utterly perfect. But
many such people also record seeing the Heavenly City itself.
Everything is usually described as being very bright, yet without
being any strain on one's sight. Frequently there is also a
reference to indescribably beautiful music which is nothing like
the music of earth. Always these accounts seem to agree that
there is no sun there, just the bright radiance of God.
Typically, either an angel, or in some accounts the Lord Jesus
Himself, tell the person that they must return to their physical
lives for a few more years.

Again, from many different cultures there is a similar
recognition and description of the see-through spirit bodies of
those who have departed from this earth according to this
experience. Indeed, several people who have experienced NDEs
record the horror of having to re-enter their physical bodies
again.

The Christian Problem

Traditionally perhaps 95% of evangelical
Christianity has rejected NDEs even though there are now many
recorded NDEs of Christians who describe undergoing exactly what
the Bible says that Christians should expect to happen at death,
(entering Heaven!!)

So why have we Christians tended to be so dismissive of these
accounts?

I spoke to two other evangelical Christians to corroborate my own
impression as to why evangelical Christianity largely attiributes
NDEs to the occult. I found that all three of us were in total
agreement. There are two problems:

1. NDEs often picture non-Christians being
accepted into heaven by Jesus.

2. Occultic and New Age enthusiasts accept NDEs as part of a much
bigger picture of perverse teaching including the acceptance of
reincarnation.

Regarding Point One, can we truly say that the Bible excludes
all non-Christians from entering Heaven? I have to say
that my immediate response here is that the Bible does not
exclude people as often as some evangelical Christians
occasionally appear to do! We also have to remind ourselves that
there are also numerous NDE accounts of Hell! Many accounts have
described entering Hell and it should not perhaps surprise us
that many of those who experienced this, quickly converted after
re-entering their bodies!

Regarding Point Two, the acceptance of NDEs by New Age and
occultic people does not necessarily mean that all NDEs are of
improper origin (though some could be). If a perverse and
unbiblical spiritual teacher believes in God, does his/her
overall perversity also make the belief in God perverse? Of
course not! I am somewhat alarmed that some inspiring accounts of
how Christians have had wonderful deathbed experiences of hearing
angels sing and of seeing angels who have come to escort them
'beyond the grave', appear on occultic sites but would be barred
from most Christian sites. Have we got something wrong here?
We should not reject things which we might reasonably expect a
loving God to allow, just because occultic types accept
them!

Science - Indications Of An Encouraging New
Approach!

We have all become so used to science's usual
approach of anti-supernaturalism (or, naturalism), that it
may come as a shock to learn that some scientists are now
starting to consider that the brain and the mind may be far more
separate than they had previously believed. The very first
scientific responses to deathbed experiences and NDEs was highly
sceptical. We were told that these were hallucinations caused by
chemical changes in the brain at the time of death, but other
scientists soon challenged this picture, remarking on the
astonishing similarity of these experiences from many cultures.
Four years ago the British Daily Telegraph newspaper
carried the astonishing conclusion of "two eminent doctors" who
conducted a year long study on heart attack survivors who
underwent 'after-death' experiences:

'The new study concludes, however, that a number of people
have almost certainly had these experiences after they were
pronounced clinically dead. This would suggest that the mind or
consciousness can survive the death of the brain - a conclusion
that was hailed by clerics last night as supporting religious
faith.'
The report continues:'The study's authors, Dr Peter Fenwick, a consultant
neuropsychiatrist at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, and
Dr Sam Parnia, a clinical research fellow and registrar at
Southampton hospital, stress that more research is needed. Dr
Parnia said: "These people were having these experiences when we
wouldn't expect them to happen, when the brain shouldn't be able
to sustain lucid processes or allow them to form memories that
would last. So it might hold an answer to the question of whether
mind or consciousness is actually produced by the brain or
whether the brain is a kind of intermediary for the mind, which
exists independently." Dr Fenwick said: "If the mind and brain
can be independent, then that raises questions about the
continuation of consciousness after death. It also raises the
question about a spiritual component to humans and about a
meaningful universe with a purpose rather than a random
universe."'
The Daily Telegraph report continued,'By examining medical records, the researchers said the
contention of many critics that near-death experiences were the
result of a collapse of brain functions caused by lack of oxygen
were highly unlikely. None of those who underwent the experiences
had low levels of oxygen. Researchers were also able to rule out
claims that unusual combinations of drugs were to blame because
the resuscitation procedure in the hospital unit was the same in
every case.'

So this starts to lead towards the undeniable
conclusion that NDEs are spiritually meaningful
occurrences. This does not mean that I now necessarily accept
every NDE claim that I have ever heard as completely valid, nor
that I feel that occultic elements are not sometimes
involved, but I really believe that evangelical Christianity may
need to revisit the topic of NDEs and encourage a more open
debate in the evangelical community. I feel that we have been too
hasty to pidgeon-hole all NDE claims as 'occultic'
- this is why evangelical Christians simply never talk about some
incredible near-death survival experiences of famous Christians;
we simply feel it is safer to leave the subject closed - even
when we cut ourselves off from many inspiring and encouraging
occurrences.
Following this article you will find links to a few
Christian death experience testimonies - check them out! -
do we reject these simply because theologically deviant
occultists have previously shown more interest in them than we
have?? I could have produced many more such accounts which abound
in both books and on the internet. Am I saying that all such
accounts are as 'theologically-correct' as many of us
evangelicals would prefer? Not at all - far from it, in many
cases. But I really believe that Bible-believing Christians must
stop rejecting things for the wrong reasons, especially where
such inspiring accounts are not unbiblical. I also hope that we
can stop rejecting the death-bed experiences of numerous
Christians because they may talk of 'spirits' and angels being
present.
Robin A. Brace
2004.